Hon Ochor Chris Ochor Receiving Award of Execellence on Community Development fron Mr Patrick Oche, Delta State COMPAN Chairman
Community newspaper operators in Delta state had had been called to contribute their quotas towards the development of communities in Nigeria by reporting positive happenings in the communities, especially government efforts to develop the various communities in providing the basic needs of the people.
The charge was made recently by the Executive Director, Social Services Development, on the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, (DESOPADEC), Hon Ochor Chris Ochor, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Delta State chapter of the Community Newspaper Publishers Association of Nigeria, (COMPAN), at Bellwood Hotel, Asaba.
The Director, who was the chairman of the occasion, and a recipient of Award of Excellence on Community Development, while applauding the development of the community newspapers especially within the past 18 years of democratic rule, said that a lot of good things has happened, that need to be positively reported, especially by the community newspapers.
Making reference to the topic of the event, which was “Community Newspapers as a Nexus for Democratic Development in Nigeria”, while agreeing that before the advent of the present democratic government, Nigerian democracy was slow said that political development of the country has picked up positively.
According to him, the improvement of the Nigerian Social Economic Index, is as a result of the almost twenty years of uninterrupted democracy, which has given investors the needed confidence to invest in the country.
Not losing the fact that Nigerian democracy is still a work in progress, Hon Ochor, said the press, especially the community newspapers has a lot to do to ensure that the Nigerian democracy grows to a world standard.
While enumerating the achievements of the Nigerian state since the inception of democracy, to include, the economic growth rate as evidenced by the increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the transformation in the telecom sector, the mantra that agriculture is not just for crop growing but a business, he charged the COMPAN members to ensure that the various efforts to develop the country by the various governments, especially in Delta state is made known to the public, especially the rural dwellers who find joy in reading the community papers.
“There must be a healthy synergy between the government of the day and the media, especially the community Newspapers at all times- the government hugely demands the cooperation of you, community newspaper operators, to drive its economic policies and other developmental initiatives to the benefit of the people, especially at the grassroots.” He concluded.
